Updated 1/6/18: MVC Expansion Poll

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Out of that monstrosity of a list the only one I'm interested in is NKU. I could stomach Wright State. If we're going to Dayton though I hope Elgin pulls something out of his ass and actually gets Dayton. Unlikely, though. Grand Canyon has been publicly mentioned as a possibility in an interview...with Elgin I believe. I doubt they will go that direction but at least they're looking.

[VU2014]

Or a lot of schools they had mentioned looking into, but they did.

Outside of Murray State then next team will most likely be one of the below.

Green Bay
Milwaukee
Wright State
Oakland
Detroit
UIC
Belmont
NKU
Detroit

UMKC and Oral Roberts might be looked into, but wont be added.

If we are going to expand I'd add Belmont and Murray State. As a Valpo fan who has been in the Horizon League for a while, I'd avoid most of those schools. The only two I'd consider is NKU and Oakland. NKU is a bit of a wildcard because they've only been D1 for a few seasons and have never dealt with a D1 coaching change. Their current HC is good but I don't think he'll be there for much longer. He signed an "extension" but that's just an insurance policy for the buyout when he leaves, which could be sooner rather then later. This is their first fully successful season, imo. Last season they went to the tournament but never had to play any of the Top seeds so it was a bit of a "cake walk" through the conference tournament. Valpo was littered with injuries at the end of the last season and got knocked out early & Oakland choked in their first round game. Maybe they'd be a solid add but I don't think they are a slam dunk. Oakland is a little beyond the footprint so that's one reason I doubt they'll be seriously considered.

We have big problems as a conference if we're even considering UMKC and Oral Roberts

Also there is no chance we raid the A10. Rhode Island, Dayton, VCU and SLU. SLU's admin/fans think very highly of themselves and they think the MVC is a "downgrade" even though the MVC was pretty clearly better then the A10 this season. The only way SLU joins the MVC is if the Big East adds Dayton and maybe if the AAC decides to add a VCU or URI as non-football members down the road.

It's important to not screw up these adds. It's better to add no one at all then add 1 or 2 that won't help attain the goal of building a multi-bid league. The MVC should only expand if the potential new members can help make you a two bid league. Does Belmont or Murray State do that? Maybe or maybe not. It's all about getting multiple bids. Adding 2 new schools won't magically make us a 2-bid league. At the end of the day what will is if everyone who is currently in the conference steps up their game, which has been the case this season. I am almost positive Valpo will be much better next season and will win more the those close conference games.

The real priority is trying to get most if not all teams into Top 100-150 but ideally have most teams as close to Top 100. Not every Conference team can be Top 100 every season because programs are cyclical, which is fine but the important thing is to not have teams bottom out to sub-200.

[UNDfan]

Could the MVC be delaying Murray St so they would match up with UND in 2020 to the MVFC? Murray State has a problem with MVFC scheduling before then.

Think the other school that is a likely add is UALR. Either of them could get big exit fees by announcing so suddenly. If they give more time, the exit fees might go down.

There is nothing appealing about UALR.

or UND.

Never ever have pushed here for membership, but the smack just keeps flowing from the posters.

My post was a legitimate question that I haven’t gotten an answer on yet.

Mo St’s Prez is the head of the expansion committee. He has said before that he wants a school within a short bus ride from Mo St. Between UMKC, ORU and UALR, UALR doesn’t present Missouri rivals issues for Mo St (Mo St wants to increase enrollment and not give SEMO or UMKC favorable treatment) and ORU doesn’t fit even with the private MVC schoools. UALR would be the Mo St Presidents choice that he would present. NKU, Detroit, Wright St, etc anything east of the Indiana line, he would veto.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Fine, I answer. Say the MVC adds Murray State and NKU, which is he most likely scenario.

Travel partners:

Northern Iowa/Drake
Loyola/Valpo
Missouri State/Southern Illinois
Bradley/Illinois State
Northern Kentucky/Indiana State
Evansville/Murray State

They'll take the extra bus time to SIU then add s*** like UALR, SEMO, Oral Roberts, etc.

[AndShock]

Great atmosphere for the OVC final.

Not a State is gonna take over St. Louis.

[BearsCountry]

Just say no to Belmont. No fan base. Only success under one coach.

[MissouriValleyUnite]

Great atmosphere for the OVC final.

Not a State is gonna take over St. Louis.

Saw some twitter clips panning the crowd. Would not surprise if they brought the largest contingent to STL.

Pretty crazy a fan base who travels that well has been stuck in the 25th conference all these years.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Congrats to Murray State on winning the regular season and OVC tournament for a bid to the NCAA tournaments. NKU might get a bid, as well. The MVC could be adding two tournament teams. Not a bad consolation for no GCU or Dayton

[smidge34]

https://twitter.com/ecpjohnmartin/statu ... 7609540608

Wow what a big statement from an Evansville local.

[smidge34]

https://twitter.com/msuracers/status/970134467087097856